The Falkland/Malvinas Islands, Argentina and the
United Kingdom
There are many academic and non-academic
articles in English and Spanish (at least) about the Falkland/Malvinas islands.
Matthieu Grandpierron 2017, political analyst, junior researcher at Ecole Polytechnique (France) in
international relations, in the abstract
about his paper “Preserving ‘Great Power
Status’: The Complex Case of the British Intervention in the Falklands (1982)” summarizes the answers to the questions posed
by our previous post (Post 21).
Thereafter, the reader will find a brief
reference to the three official positions in relation to this TERRITORIAL
DISPUTE: Argentina, Falkland/Malvinas islands, and the United
Kingdom. Links to the complete documents and references are included.
“Preserving
‘Great Power Status’: The Complex Case of the British Intervention in the
Falklands (1982)”
By
Matthieu Grandpierron 2017
Abstract “This article aims to examine the
importance of an often overlooked argument when it comes to explaining why
great powers go to war against a weaker actor. This argument involves great
power status considerations. The article argues that states care deeply about
their status, especially states which are current and former great powers, and
would opt to go to war to preserve this status even if the political and
military consequences of such intervention are negligible to objective
observers. To illustrate this argument, I will be looking at why the British
decided to re-establish their sovereignty over the Falklands in 1982. The
empirical part of the analysis is based on formerly secret documents
declassified by the British government. This qualitative primary analysis of
British documents provides new insights about the crisis and suggests that
status considerations played a large role in the British decision to re-conquer
the Falklands.”
Argentina’s
official position (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Argentine Republic
“The Question of the Malvinas Islands, understood as
being the sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the
Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding
maritime spaces, originated on 3 January 1833, when the United Kingdom
disrupted Argentina’s territorial integrity by illegally occupying the islands
and evicting the Argentine authorities, preventing their return and the
settlement of Argentines from the mainland. Since then, Argentina has
consistently denounced the United Kingdom’s usurpation and, as it is
provided for in the Argentine Constitution, has ratified its sovereignty over
the islands and affirmed that its recovery in accordance with international law
constitutes a permanent and unrelinquished goal.”
The Falkland Islands official position (Falkland
islands government)
“[…]
The UN Charter enshrines the right of all people to determine their own future,
a principle known as self-determination. It is in exercising this right that we
have chosen to retain our links with the UK. This fundamental right is being
ignored by the Argentine Government, who are denying our right to exist as a
people, and denying our right to live peacefully in our home.
We
are not a colony of the United Kingdom; we are a British Overseas Territory by
choice, which is something entirely different. We are not governed by Britain:
we are entirely self-governing, except for defence and foreign affairs. […]”
“[…] Whilst the Argentine Government’s
calls for negotiations with the UK may seem benign, and a rational way to end
the dispute, it should be noted that the Argentine Constitution requires the
outcome of negotiations to be nothing but full Argentine sovereignty over our
home. As far as we are concerned, sovereignty is not up for discussion. […]”
The
United Kingdom position (and a brief reference to the European Union)
“The Falklands are an Overseas Territory of
the United Kingdom, but they are also claimed by Argentina, which calls them Las
Malvinas. The Falkland Islands are an Associated Territory of the European
Union.”
NOTE:
This post is based on Jorge Emilio Núñez, “Territorial Disputes and State
Sovereignty: International Law and Politics,” London and New York: Routledge,
Taylor and Francis Group, 2020 (forthcoming)
Previous
published research monograph about territorial disputes and sovereignty by the
author, Jorge Emilio Núñez, “Sovereignty Conflicts and International Law and
Politics: A Distributive Justice Issue,” London and New York: Routledge, Taylor
and Francis Group, 2017.
NEXT
POST: What do Falklands/Malvinas islanders want?
Tuesday 15th October 2019
Dr Jorge Emilio Núñez
Twitter: @London1701
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